This chapter looks at changing patterns of Japanese environmental NGOs active in the international sphere and argues that in the early 1990s changes in the international realm provided activists new opportunities and frameworks that allowed them to overcome steep domestic organizational barriers and participate in new activities focused on global environmental issues. Building upon recent work done by sociologists and political scientists, it outlines how international opportunity, transational diffusion, and international socialization of state actors have encouraged the growth of NGOs and new forms of social action.